Raiga Saejima
Raiga Saejima '''is the son of Kouga Saejima and Kaoru Mitsuki and heir to the '''Golden Knight Garo title. He is the protagonist of The Makai Flower. Personality & Character Son to Kouga Saejima and Kaoru Mitsuki, Raiga is the heir to the Saejima bloodline and the next Golden Knight. Though not without his own trials and hardships, Raiga was raised in a loving environment surrounded by family and people who cared for him. A stark contrast to the harsher upbringing his father endured. Although not an orphan, Raiga lost his parents due to Eyrith's manipulation of time and space. Taking Kaoru, Kouga chased after her and the two have been missing for over a decade, lost in between dimensions; Gonza ended up being the guardian to another heir without parents. A major difference though is that both Kouga and Kaoru are still alive outside of the human realm. Raiga didn't realize that until later. The loss of his parents became Raiga's fundamental motivation to succeed his father as the next Garo. Despite not having a master to apprentice under, Raiga trained diligently towards this goal; his natural athleticism and combat ability surprising even Silver Fanged Knight, Rei Suzumura. Impressed by his tenacity, Rei would eventually take him as his disciple who would train him as a proper Makai Knight. After succeeding and proven himself worthy within the Tower of Heroic Spirits, it as then he learned his father is still alive, fighting to come back with Kaoru. However, Kouga realized there would come a day he must relinquish his armor for his son and Kouga transfer ownership to Raiga. Overjoyed to know his parents are still out there, Raiga found peace in this knowledge and resolve to be a great knight. Raiga is probably one of the kindest of knights. While most knights show apathy and mercilessness in their fights against Horrors, Raiga displays a great degree of humanity, kindness, and consideration with the people he encounters. When it came to slaying a possessed human, he can display sadness and regret over their demise. So kind and considerate, others that work with him remark his kindness as a weakness. However, that loving and caring aspect about him is also why people respect him. Despite being softer and having heart, he never lost perspective and it helped him remain an effective knight. Skills & Abilities *'Makai Knight Training': Raiga was trained later than most children in the makai path. While it was never explained, it was presumed Kaoru wanted Raiga to have a more normal childhood before giving him the choice of becoming a knight or remain a civilian. As such, it seems Kouga never taught Raiga the Saejima clan's combat style. However, he became proficient in his own style of combat through a combination of personal training and knight training from Rei Suzumura. Raiga fights in a noticeably different style that is more fluid and precise, yet flashy, and less aggressive. While it's unclear did he surpass his father's combat skills, Raiga is capable of drawing and sheathing his blade repeatedly in stylish manners without looking. During battle, he displays a high level of hand-eye coordination and reflexes in reaction. When given the opportunity, Raiga intentionally prolongs a fight to toy with as well as study his opponent in melee combat before drawing his blade. Even when he does draw out his sword, he prefers to remain defensive and gauge his opponent before attacking. This helps Raiga fight with confidence without experiencing any surprise attacks, but it also gives the opponent the chance to bring out their full power. However, he's smart enough to only toy with weaker opponents and swiftly take down the stronger ones. Tools & Weapons *'Garoken' (牙狼剣 Garōken, Fanged Wolf Sword): The Makai Blade of the Garo Armor passed down to him from his father. In its regular form, it is styled after a Jian with a red hilt & scabbard both adorned with the symbol of Garo, while in its true form is that of a golden longsword and can be used either one or two-handed. **'Garo Zanbaken' (牙狼斬馬剣 Garōzanbaken, Fanged-Wolf Horse-Slaying Sword): An upgraded form of the Garoken which accessible via the aid of Gōten. The Makai Blade takes the form of a double-edged greatsword which blade has a round tip and roughly the size of a car bumper, signifying the increased attack power and range that it enables Garo to cut through the durable hide of a powerful Horror on a whim. Despite the increased size, it doesn't hamper the Knight in any way since the weapon is made of Soul Metal. ***'Dai Garo Zanbaken' (大牙狼斬馬剣 Dai Garō Zanbaken, Big Fanged-Wolf Horse-Slaying Sword): The known final upgrade of Garoken with aid of Gōten. This form is similar to Garo Zanbaken, but with both size and attack power increased to ridiculous proportions that allow even Gōten to surf with it. As with the previous upgrade, this upgrade is accessible with aid of Gōten. **[[Garo|'Garo']]' Armor': Donning the armor of Garo the Golden Knight, Raiga possesses all the strength and weaknesses of his predecessors that include the 99.9-second time limit. Unlike his father, Raiga can use unconventional features of the armor like conjuring Blazing Armament at will without a Madoubi Lighter and use harpoon blades at the back of the armor. The eyes of his armor are blue. **'Gouten': His Mado Horse. *[[Makai Blade|'Makai Blade']]: In an alternate timeline where Raiga never inherited the title of Garo, he instead used a titleless makai blade to summon a golden Hagane Armor. **[[Hagane|'Hagane']]' Armor': Raiga welds a golden Hagane Armor in a future where we never gained the title of Garo from Kouga. Interestingly as opposed to the dull color of regular Hagane's Raiga's has a shine to it, not unlike that of Garo. *[[Zaruba|'Zaruba']]: His Madogu Ring partner who has been with Raiga since he was a child, having previously served his father & grandfather. *[[Madō Lighter|'Madō Lighter']]: A magical tool used to confirm whether a person is a Horror or not. It is also used to enhance his sword with Mado Flames. *[[Mayuri|'Mayuri']]: Considered a magical tool and not a person, Mayuri was given to Raiga to help hunt down and seal the Ady Slab Horrors and stop Eyrith. As the only living human with the magical ability to seal darkness from her own body, she was instrumental in helping Raiga style Eyrith. However, because she is still a human being, she ultimately developed feelings for Raiga and her experiences as a human being. History Early Days Born to Kouga Saejima and Kaoru Mitsuki, Raiga is part of the Saejima Clan, a bloodline that has long fought against the Horrors. As a child, Raiga lost his parents to an event and the family's trusted butler Gonza took the responsibility of raising Raiga. Though Raiga had the freedom to choose his path, he decided to become a Makai Knight like his father before him. When he goes off to the Tower of Heroic Spirits to receive the Garo title, Raiga learns that his father is still alive while entrusted with the armor. Meeting Mayuri Sometime after becoming the current Garo, Raiga is informed about an ancient evil named Eyrith released from the Ady Slate and that a magic tool is being sent from the Senate to assist him with both it and the nine Horrors used to form the Ady Slate. Raiga's investigation leads him to a mysterious girl and the Ady Slate Horror named Azdab who transformed into a small stone instead of being sealed with Garoken upon death. The girl introduces herself as Mayuri, a magic tool in a human form that can seal the stone within her body. Soon after, learning that one of the eight remaining Horrors from the Ady Slate contains the seed of Eyrith, Raiga gains additional aid from the Makai Knight known as Crow. While gaining Goten upon his hundredth kill, Raiga defeats three more Horrors from the Ady Slate. Relationships TBA Pics Gallery raiga.jpg MT Kaoru & Raiga.jpg Raiga Lost Soul.gif Raiga Shining Light.gif Raiga Transforming.gif Raiga Hall of Heroes.jpg Raiga & Mayuri.jpg GaroHana raiga2.png Raiga Seijima.jpg Notes & Trivia TBA Articles & References TBA External Links TBA Category:Makai Knight Category:Golden Knights Category:Titleless Knight